Sting Talks About His Initial Retirement Plans in AEW

Sting wanted to retire in December.

Sting recently announced his plans to retire from professional wrestling. He shared the news on AEW Dynamite, stating that his last match will take place at AEW Revolution next spring. Until then, he will continue to be a part of AEW storylines every week. Currently, he is involved in a feud with Darby Allin and Adam Copeland against AEW TNT Champion Christian Cage, Luchasaurus, and Nick Wayne.

Sting is not alone in this journey as he has support from various allies, including his tag team partners Allin and Copeland. Recently, Ric Flair, a wrestling legend, joined Sting's side. Flair made his AEW debut on the October 25th edition of AEW Dynamite, expressing his support for Sting. He mentioned his desire to be part of Sting's retirement tour, particularly at AEW Revolution.

Sting's Initial Retirement Plans

In a different situation, 2023 might have been the final year for Showtime.

Sting shared with Sports Illustrated that he initially thought about retiring in December, but plans changed because of Ric Flair's involvement.

"I wanted to finish earlier, maybe in December. But now that Ric is here with me, I want to go longer, all the way to Revolution," Sting said.

Sting and Flair's wrestling journeys are closely connected. In the 1980s, when Flair was a big deal in the wrestling territories, Sting was just starting out. They first faced off in 1988 for the NWA World Championship, and the match ended in a draw. Throughout the years, they had many more matches, both in WCW and TNA.

"When Ric came out and I heard his music play, it hit me, had this flashback, and it made me emotional. Ric is the guy who put me on the map. We've traveled around the world together, and Ric helped make me. Now he's going to finish with me. After all the travel, all the matches, all the press slams, all the chops, I experienced the same feeling on Dynamite this past week with Ric that I did on that final [WCW] Nitro. Except this time, it was so much more positive.

All I can say for now is I want people to walk away and say, 'Wow, what an ending,' I'll be three weeks away from turning 65 at that point. I want to leave people with a memory that will mean something," Sting said.

AEW Dynamite is back tonight at 8 PM Eastern Time on TBS.